Weekend notebook: Record-breaking Aitken in the DTM, podiums in the Japan Cup

Pole position and victory for Jack Aitken in the Ferrari 296 GT3 of Emil Frey Racing in Race-1 of the DTM, contested over the weekend at the Dutch circuit of Zandvoort, which also hosted the ADAC GT Master where a double seventh place was recorded for Ferrari. Podiums for the Maranello cars also in the first round of the Japan Cup at Sugo.

DTM. With an extraordinary performance of 1’31”762, never before recorded by a GT3 on the Dutch circuit of Zandvoort, Jack Aitken in the number 14 Ferrari 296 GT3 of Emil Frey Racing took pole position for Race-1, from which he was able to control the race for the entire duration and pick up his second win of the season. The British driver, who was further adrift in Race-2 and finished 16th, is now in seventh place in the overall standings.

The Swiss team’s sister car, number 69, saw Dutchman Thierry Vermeulen climb from 15th place in Race-1 to fourth in Race-2, narrowly missing out on the podium by a few thousandths in the latter race.

The next round of the DTM is scheduled from 5 to 7 July at the Norisring.

ADAC GT Masters. The Zandvoort circuit on the Dutch coast also hosted the second round of the ADAC GT Masters season. For the Swiss Emil Frey Racing team, the weekend ended with a double seventh place for the number 14 Ferrari 296 GT3 with the pairing of Jean-Luc D’Auria and Alain Valente.

The next event in the series will be held at the Norisring from 7 to 9 July.

Japan Cup. The Japanese national series – which as of this year is no longer part of the GT World Challenge Asia – kicked off at the Sportsland Sugo track, with the K-Tunes Racing team’s Ferrari 296 GT3, entrusted to drivers Daisuke Yamawaki and Shinichi Takagi, in the Pro Am class, taking pole position in both races.

On the Miyagi Prefecture circuit, which also hosted the Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli Japan over the weekend, the second car from the Maranello-based manufacturer, the number 7 of Comet Racing with Yosuke Yamazaki and Yodan Tsujiko at the steering wheel, finished seventh and fourth overall, results that earned a double second place in the Am class.

The next round of the Japan Cup is scheduled for 21–23 June at the Fuji International Speedway.